Legal Controversy: Accused in Child Abuse Case Gets Bail to Wed Victim.
A POCSO rape offender was recently granted 15 days of interim release by the Karnataka High Court, allowing him to marry the victim, who has since turned major and given birth to a kid.
“The petitioner was released on grant of interim bail which will be operational from 17-06-2024 up to 03-07-2024,” ruled a single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna. On the evening of July 3, 2024, the petitioner will make a second trip to the objective. On the next hearing day, the marriage certificate must be presented to the court.
The 23-year-old defendant is accused of crimes covered by Sections 5(L), 5(J)(II), and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, 2012, as well as Section 376 (2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code. He went to court with the intention of stopping the entire thing.
The victim’s mother filed a complaint alleging that her daughter and the petitioner fell in love while attending Shree Kanteshwara School. She also claimed that the petitioner and her daughter had regular meetings, and that on February 15, 2023, the petitioner rode up to the school in a bike, took the complainant’s daughter to a remote location, and sexually assaulted her.
The accused, who has been in judicial custody ever since, was charged after the police launched an inquiry while she was 16 years and 9 months old.
The victim allegedly gave birth to a kid thereafter. The petitioner and the victim were in love, but their parents had gotten in the way, according to the attorneys for the petitioner and the respondents.
It was asserted that a kid was born at this time and was now one year old as a result of a sexual act between the two individuals. It was said that the petitioner wanted to marry the victim in order to ensure that she and her child would not be abandoned, which is why the parties were asking for the procedures to end. Because of this compromise, the petition was accepted in the sense that it compounded the offense.
High Court of Karnataka.
After looking over the documents, the bench noted, “The victim is now eighteen years old, and the marriage is what the members of the families in the peculiar facts of the case see as the necessary solution.”. The preparation of a DNA report that was completed at the child’s birth was ordered by this court.The DNA findings are provided to this Court.The report states that the victim is the child’s biological mother and the petitioner is the child’s biological father. Consequently, there is no disagreement over the kid that resulted from their sexual cond
The text of the declaration states: “It is acceptable to remedy the concerns of the families by permitting the petitioner to marry the victim, who is now older than 18, and to assign temporary bail to the petitioner so that the marriage can proceed, in accordance with my jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Cr.P.C.. enabling the petitioner to come out and get married to the victim,” adding, “In the peculiar circumstances, as the mother has to raise the child at this tender age, looking at the mother and the child who are in dire straits.”
It was noted that the unique facts and circumstances—namely, the mother’s need to raise the child—led to the decision to pursue this approach.”The baby doesn’t know what happened. It should never again be subjected to any form of humiliation. Thus, the Court concluded that this directive was required in order to safeguard the child’s interests as well as the mother’s parental duties.
